ID Scam Costs AT&T, T-Mobile $8 Million

Police in New York say a man stole the identities of more than 1,000 people and racked up more than $8 million in wireless charges using the fraudulent information.

Amadou Dia, 49, of Manhattan, allegedly had been running the scam for 12 years before he was caught. He would gather birthdates, social security numbers anything that would help him initiate accounts with T-Mobile and AT&T.

Dia, who prosecutors say had partners in the scheme, reportedly created SIM cards and put them in mobile phones, then made international calls that would cost you and me $1 per minute or more. But they would only wind up costing the carriers that couldn’t charge the ID theft victims, Ars Technica reported. AT&T and T-Mobile would be forced to reimburse the international carriers.

Dia faces charges of conspiracy to commit identity theft, aggravated ID theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He could face up to 20 years in prison.

More than 400 of the alleged victims were either active-duty or retired members of the military.

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